sing us a song, piano man
by lil7miss7sarcastic
Summary: The one in which Caroline is a contestant on a reality singing TV show, and Klaus the difficult-to-please judge. AU/AH Klaroline one-shot inspired by The Voice.


**So I was watching The Voice and this idea struck me. I wrote this under two hours, so I apologize in advance. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the TV show nor the song.**

* * *

Caroline Forbes bit her lip anxiously as the host, Matt Donovan, announced her name to the cameras backstage.

"You're up next, sweetie," he said, smiling. She nodded and nervously smoothened non-existent creases out of her clothes. Matt squeezed her shoulders and she gave him a thin smile in return. Not only was he even better-looking in real life with those blue eyes and blonde hair, he was also genuinely nice. She couldn't wait to tell Elena back home, the poor girl had had a crush on him since the show started.

The thought of home made Caroline glance over to her mother who was standing rather stiffly to her side, not used to the glamour and hustle-bustle of reality television. Liz had taken leave from her job as a Sheriff to travel with Caroline to LA for the blind auditions, and she showed her support by hugging her and whispering "I'm proud of you Care, no matter what". Liz had never been very vocal with her affections growing up, so Caroline cherished these moments whenever she could.

Time swept by in a blur as her makeup and hair was touched upon one last time, a mike was thrust into her hands and suddenly she found herself on the stage. Caroline weighed the unfamiliar weight of the microphone in her hands as she gazed at the audience shrouded in black and the red backs of four chairs. She took a deep breath as the opening chords of the song started playing, and promptly froze.

_What am I doing here? They're not going to turn and I'm going to die of humiliation, then everyone is totally going to judge me, including that bitch Hayley, who's totally macking over Tyler as I stand here about to make a colossal fool of myself._

Then, another voice spoke in her head, the Caroline who was head cheerleader, chair of the prom committee and current Miss Mystic Falls woke up-_Seriously? Just shut the fuck up and sing._

And she did.

.

.

Klaus Mikaelson leaned back in his red leather chair as he waited for the contestant to sing. This was the last contestant for the day, and he hadn't turned around for anyone so far. None of them had the spark, the light he was looking for.

Klaus rolled his eyes as the piano notes started playing. It was a simple and safe song, completely predictable and he settled himself back for another disappointment.

_Close your eyes, give me your hand darlin'_

_Do you feel my heart beating_

_Do you understand_

The crowd roared as they recognized the familiar classic, but Klaus sat there stunned, all the air in his lungs seemed to have been knocked out.

_Do you feel the same_

_Am I only dreaming_

_Is this burning an eternal flame_

Granted, the song was simple but the girl used some pure and powerful vocals, the likes of which Klaus had never heard before, and took the melody to another level. Her husky voice seemed to reach deep inside him, as if she were only singing to him. The audience seemed to feel the same, as they cheered loudly.

_I believe it's meant to be, darlin'_

_I watch you when you are sleeping_

_You belong with me_

Klaus scrambled for the red button and felt his chair _whoosh_ around. An electric thrill went through him when he saw her, younger than he'd imagined, dressed in a short royal blue dress, with blonde curls framing her face. Caroline barely noticed him; she'd gotten over her initial apprehension and was now pouring her entire soul into the performance.

_Do you feel the same_

_Am I only dreaming_

_Or this burning an eternal flame_

Alaric Saltzman, awed by her singing, chose to turn around too. He looked at Klaus and grinned, but the other judge had eyes only for the girl. A close-up of Klaus's face would show his slightly parted lips, but the goosebumps spreading on his arms were a private matter. Alaric hummed and swayed faintly to the beats.

_Say my name_

_Sun shines through the rain_

_A whole life so lonely_

_And then come and ease the pain_

_I don't want to lose this feeling, ohhhh_

To his right, Klaus noticed that Katherine Pierce was facing the stage too. The sultry pop star was notoriously hard to impress, especially with a female performer, but even she had been taken aback by the girl's rendition of the last note. Only Damon Salvatore stubbornly remained where he was, his finger an inch above the red button, but Klaus knew that his refusal to press it had more to do with the silly tiffs and ego clashes he had with Katherine than with the girl's actual talent.

.

.

As the song wound down, Caroline suddenly noticed the three judges slash future coaches staring right at her. She blushed and whispered to herself, unbelievingly "Oh my god, I made it!"

"Thank you, thanks y'all," she beamed and said to the audience who rounded off the end of her song with a thunderous applause. Damon finally turned around and fixed her with a smirk, "Well Blondie, sorry you didn't make the cut for me, but you sure impressed the rest."

Caroline bristled. "It's Caroline Forbes, actually," she retorted, the audience's support having restored her confidence.

The rapper opened his mouth but Katherine cut him across, "Don't mind him, darling, he's just a git." The audience laughed appreciatively.

"Where are you from, Caroline?" Alaric asked, smiling warmly at her. She resisted the urge to tell him that her mother was a huge fan of his country songs.

"Mystic Falls, Virginia," she replied, almost embarrassed of her small-town girl status. At that moment her eyes locked with Klaus's, who'd been staring at her with an unreadable expression up till now. Out of all them, his vote was the least expected. Klaus Mikaelson, the British rockstar, was infamous for his mood swings and his band Hybrid had performed around the world a countless times; needless to say Caroline couldn't see how he was interested in her humble performance.

"Ca-ruh-line," Klaus started and the audience screamed, as they did every time he opened his mouth; the accent, the looks and the attitude together made a swoon-worthy combination. Caroline felt a swoop in her stomach that had nothing to do with stage fright.

"Yeah. Hi," she said and mentally cringed. _Smooth_.

"You were flawless up there, love. The song is perfectly average, but your take on it was beautiful. I enjoyed you."

Alaric mock-groaned. "Don't let him try and sweet-talk you, Caroline. You gave an amazing performance, and you have so much potential. Join my team, you'll fit right in."

"Please, you can do so much better than these jerks," Katherine said dismissively, "girl-to-girl, you showed immense talent and maturity in your performance and I seriously adore the fact that you sassed Damon."

Caroline felt as if she were in a dream. It seemed surreal to be literally and figuratively in the spotlight, to be begged by three successful musicians to join their teams, when she'd always been the second choice all her life. Now _she_ was the one who got to make the choice. It felt strangely empowering to see the hot, famous stars vying for her attention.

"Tick tock Barbie, we don't have all the time in the world," Damon said, "which judge will you choose to be your coach?"

Alaric rolled his eyes at him. Looking at them, one wouldn't be able to make out that they were best friends and drinking buddies off the sets. "See, Caroline, even you know deep down that you belong with me. You'll feel right at home with my team."

Katherine flipped her dark curls behind her shoulders and snorted. "I see the fire in your eyes, darling. I can help translate that into your singing. Choose me, cause we bitches have to stick together."

"Uhh.." mumbled Caroline, more confused than ever.

"Ca-ruh-line," there was that delicious accent again, "no matter whom you choose, mark my words, a small town and a small-time career would not be enough for you. There's a whole world waiting out there. I can take you anywhere you want, help you scale great heights. All you have to do is ask."

Caroline stood there, drinking in his words. No one had ever said anything like that to her before, no one had ever understood her desire to escape the stifling boundaries of a small town and experience the great big world, musically or otherwise. But Klaus Mikaelson had, and only after listening to her sing for a few minutes.

The crowd started screaming out suggestions while Alaric and Katherine began bickering over her, but Caroline didn't pay attention to anything else but Klaus, who had fixed her with his piercing blue eyes. He tilted his head gradually to the side and slowly arched his eyebrows at her.

It was at that precise moment that Caroline knew who her coach was going to be.

"I choose…" the audience sat on the edge of their seats, and the cameras zoomed closer to her face, "I choose Klaus."

Katherine pouted while Alaric clapped good-naturedly along with the audience. Damon shrugged, "Can't say I'm surprised. Hell _I_ would've chosen him after that little speech."

A rare, genuine smile spread over Klaus's features, and Caroline caught her breath seeing the dimples on his face.

"Good choice, sweetheart. You're going to win the show. I intend to make you a superstar, however long it takes."

* * *

**How was it? Too campy? Too cheesy? Let me know.**

**The song is obviously Eternal Flame by The Bangles aka the song Caroline serenaded Matt with in TVD.**

**-S**

**P. S. I love Usher.**


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